India has blocked access to the X (formerly Twitter) accounts of Reuters and Reuters World, according to local media reports on Sunday.
The restriction was implemented in response to a legal request. While these specific accounts are currently inaccessible within India, users can still view Reuters’ main website and approximately 30 other affiliated accounts.
An Instagram post by The Hindustan Times linked the action to “Operation Sindoor,” a reported Indian military initiative involving missile strikes on targets in Pakistan in May. The post claimed that the account restrictions were carried out under official directives issued during that period.
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In a related development, X issued a statement expressing disagreement with the Indian government’s directives but confirmed it had complied by restricting the accounts only within India. The platform further noted that, in numerous instances, the government had failed to specify which posts allegedly violated Indian law. In several cases, X added, it received no evidence or justification for the requested blocks.
X has received executive orders from the Indian government requiring X to block over 8,000 accounts in India, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment of the company’s local employees. The orders include demands to block access in India to…
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) May 8, 2025
Despite reports attributing the action to government orders, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) informed India Today that it had not issued any directive to block Reuters’ accounts. As of now, Reuters has not released an official response.`
